Minority couples in Karnataka to get Rs 50,000 marriage aid, Siddaramaiah govt issues order

The order issued by the department of minority welfare said a total of 5,000 couples will be covered in the current financial year.

Bengaluru: The Siddaramaiah administration has issued an order giving effect to a scheme under which economically weak couples from minority communities will get financial assistance of Rs 50,000 if they tie the knot at mass marriage events organised by nonprofits.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had announced this scheme in his 2025-26 Budget.

According to the order issued by the department of minority welfare, a total of 5,000 couples will be covered in the current financial year. Each couple will get Rs 50,000, which will cost the exchequer Rs 25 crore. Also, the nonprofit that organises mass marriages will get an incentive of Rs 5,000 per couple. This will cost Rs 2.5 crore in total.

A bride should be aged between 18 and 42 years. The bridegroom’s age must be 21-45 years, the order stipulates. A couple’s annual income must be less than Rs 5 lakh to become eligible for financial assistance under the scheme. No man with an existing wife will get covered under the scheme. Also, only one member from a family is eligible to receive the scheme’s benefit.

The financial assistance of Rs 50,000 will be credited to a joint bank account held by the couple, the order states.

This is being seen as the successor of the Bidaai scheme, or ‘Shaadi Bhagya, which was implemented in Siddaramaiah’s first term in office. Under Bidaai, financial assistance of Rs 50,000 was provided to women belonging to minority communities towards their marriage expenses.

Rs 100 crore for Maulana Azad schools

In a separate order, the department of minority welfare said 250 Maulana Azad schools will be upgraded on the lines of Karnataka Public Schools with classes from pre-primary to pre-university on the same premises. This, too, was a budget announcement by Siddaramaiah. The total cost of upgrading 250 Maulana Azad schools will be Rs 500 crore. To begin with, 100 Maulana Azad schools will be upgraded this year at a cost of Rs 100 crore, according to the order.